New Zealand will be eager to avoid back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2011 when they face Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
The 36-34 Rugby Championship loss on home soil to South Africa has lived with the All Blacks for a fortnight after the week’s break in the competition and they will be determined to bounce back and secure a victory that could wrap up the silverware for a third successive year.
Standing in their way is a confident Pumas side who will be buoyed by their performance in beating the Wallabies 23-19 in their last match. Indeed Argentina under Mario Ledesma are growing in confidence and that’s good news not just for the Rugby Championship but the world game.
It will take a Herculean performance to end their barren run of results against the All Blacks though – they have yet to beat them in 27 attempts. Furthermore New Zealand have beaten the Pumas by a double-figure margin in their last five games in Argentina, averaging 39 points in each.
If Argentina are to stand a chance they will need to replicate their strong starts to games in this year’s Rugby Championship. They’ve scored the most first-half points of any team (65) and also have the best first-half points difference on aggregate (+16), having shipped just 49. However, as it is well known, the All Blacks regularly turn the screw during the second period so we could be set for a game of two halves.
New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen this week labelled Argentina a “dangerous beast” and in front of 50,000 supporters, the Pumas are going to be fired up and desperate to end the drought against the men in black. New Zealand, however, are smarting and that could spell trouble for the hosts.
Players to watch:
For Argentina: Shifting out to his unfavoured position of wing is made tougher for Matias Moroni by the fact he’s up against Waisake Naholo on Saturday. Although Moroni has played out wide before, his best position is centre but due to injuries he finds himself wearing jersey 11. While he is a strong and intelligent runner, it’s defensively where he must be excellent against the threat of Naholo and Ben Smith in the wide channels. Also keep an eye on returning prop Ramiro Herrera, whose comeback is a big boost not just in the scrum but around the field.
For New Zealand: Much was said about Beauden Barrett in the aftermath of their loss to South Africa, with his goal-kicking and inability to take the drop-goal option a hot topic. We have long discussed his form off the tee and it was therefore surprising that Jordie Barrett was not handed the responsibilities during the game, or better still from the outset. Beauden will look to banish a few demons in Buenos Aires and with the spotlight on him in this facet of his game, he needs to start firing as Richie Mo’unga is waiting in the wings on the bench.
Head-to-head: It’s the midfield for this one as the return of Sonny Bill Williams alongside Ryan Crotty is going to be an interesting watch. Williams comes in after a real lack of game time due to injury and if he is not 100 percent then the dynamic Bautista Ezcurra will punish him. Jeronimo De La Fuente is also a rugged operator and this battle between the 12 and 13s could have a large say on Saturday.
Previous results:
2018: New Zealand won 46-24 in Nelson
2017: New Zealand won 36-10 in Buenos Aires
2017: New Zealand won 39-22 in New Plymouth
2016: New Zealand won 36-17 in Buenos Aires
2016: New Zealand won 57-22 in Hamilton
2015: New Zealand won 26-16 in London
2015: New Zealand won 39-18 in Christchurch
2014: New Zealand won 34-13 in La Plata
Prediction: While the pack is missing a few key players, the All Blacks should have enough overall to take this. New Zealand by 14.
The teams:
Argentina: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Matias Moroni, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Matias Orlando, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere
New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel Whitelock (c), 3 Ofa Tuungafasi, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe
Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown
Date: Saturday, September 29
Venue: Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires
Kick-off: 19:40 local (23:40 BST, 22:40 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Television match official: David Grashoff (England)